A variety of types of access networks exist for providing users with high speed data services, television services, telephony services, and the like.
One example type of access network is a cable access network. A cable access network may utilize a hybrid fiber-coax infrastructure that supports both upstream and downstream data transmission between a head-end location where incoming signals are received and customer premises equipment.
Another example access network is an optical access network such as a passive optical network, an active optical network, or the like. An optical access network may employ a network architecture in which optical fiber provides all or part of the local loop used for last mile communications. An optical access network may employ any of a variety of fiber deployment configurations such as, for example, fiber-to-the-node (e.g., fiber-to-the-neighborhood), fiber-to-the-curb (also known as fiber-to-the-cabinet), fiber-to-the-premises (e.g., fiber-to-the-home), fiber-to-the-desktop, and so forth.
Yet another example access network is a wireless-based access network such as, for example, a satellite-based access network that relays network data between ground stations and transceivers located at a subscriber's premises via geosynchronous satellites, or a wireless cellular network that includes a network of distributed cells, with each cell served by an access point (e.g., a base station) that enables portable transceivers (e.g., mobile phones) to communicate with the base station and with each other via the base station.
Still another example access technology is a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) access network in which network access is provided by transmitting digital data over the wires of a local telephone network (e.g., a public switched telephone network (PSTN)). DSL service may be provided simultaneously with wired telephone service on the same telephone line because the DSL connection employs higher frequency bands for the digital data transmission than is employed for the analog telephone signal transmissions.
Regardless of the type of access network that may be employed, services provided by conventional broadband access networks including, for example, video on demand (VOD) services, digital video recorder (DVR) services, parental control services, security services, firewall services, or the like require various types of on-site customer premises equipment to provide and manage such services. Further, functionality associated with one or more network communication layers (e.g., functionality at the physical, link, or network layers of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) communication model) is typically provided by a device located at a head-end or hub location (e.g., a cable modem termination system (CMTS) in the context of cable access networks, a broadband remote access server (BRAS) in the context of DSL networks, etc.).